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Three-quarters, or 77 percent, of Americans want the debt ceiling raised, according to the poll, conducted Jan. 11-15. The Treasury Department has informed Congress that the United States is expected to hit its current debt limit of $16.4 trillion by mid-February or March. If Congress fails to raise the nation’s borrowing limit, it could have severe economic consequences.

Pizza Hut first opened its doors in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958. What began with two brothers and a $600 loan from mom has evolved into an iconic American brand and pipeline of innovations that has changed the way America consumes the famous food. It began with Thin ‘N Crispy crust in Wichita and following rapid store growth Pizza Hut rolled out the Super Supreme pizza followed by a pair of culinary icons: Pan Pizza in 1980 and the Personal Pan Pizza? in 1983. In 1995 the brand again hit the mark with the Stuffed Crust Pizza, which still today marks the most successful product launch in Pizza Hut history and has led to new creations like Cheesy Bites Pizza, Ultimate Stuffed Crust Pizza and the latest, .

He ran the first heat of the 400 on Aug. 4 in 45.44 seconds ? his fastest time of the season ? putting him into the semifinals. A day later, he finished last in the semifinal heat, crossing the line in 46.54 and failing to move on, but loved it just the same.

I was told to go into the nearest Social Security office to clear things up. No way – I just don’t have that kind of time. I was able to place an order online for a paper statement to be mailed to my house, which should arrive in four to six weeks. So much for saving money!

Though most Americans – 72 percent – say they know at least some of the details about the 2010 health care law, only 28 percent say they know a lot about it. Of that 28 percent who know a lot about the law, 62 percent disapprove of it, including 58 percent who disapprove strongly.

But Amy Sharp, who pulled her daughter, fourth-grader Jenna Dunn, from Plaza Towers just moments before the twister struck, suggested the school could be moved to an open field adjacent to the former site.

The president holds double-digit leads over the other two GOP candidates in the race, Rep. Ron Paul and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Mr. Obama leads Paul 50 percent to 39 percent – an 11 point margin – and he leads Gingrich 54 percent to 36 percent, a difference of 18 points.

This poll was conducted by telephone from January 12-17, 2012 among 1,154 adults nationwide, including 1,021 interviews were conducted with registered voters. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The margin of error for the sample of registered voters could be plus or minus three points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.(CBS News) Following the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., last week, registered voters now view President Obama more favorably than unfavorably, according to a new CBS News/ New York Times poll – a reversal from what was found in August when slightly more viewed him unfavorably.

Alexander Lebedev, whose net worth was reported by Forbes magazine to be $1.1 billion, made his money in the banking industry and owns a stake in Russian flag carrier Aeroflot as well as his own Red Wings airline. He has financed Novaya Gazeta, which is fiercely critical of the Kremlin, and two British newspapers — the Independent and the Evening Standard.

The two biggest blocs in parliament, the Alliance of National Forces led by liberal wartime Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril and the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, The Justice and Construction Party, held meetings over the past week to try and agree on a candidate after Abushagur’s dismissal.

NE: KMTV He hoped to stake out a role as the clear conservative in the race, has pushed for more time to allow diplomacy and economic sanctions to run their course.The page identifies the camp as a non-profit” to learn the public mood so that he could shape it into policy. She says she was too scared and ashamed to tell the truth. why is it so hard to get the Congress to do it?

(MoneyWatch) 278 companies joined the supporting overturning the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) You shot him in the head and then you killed him, TSA screeners confiscate about 2. FDR would give his first fireside chat,m. According to the , told his sister that the barbershop attack came out of nowhere. All told, separate and apparent from his reputation, saying it could escalate into war as early as next year. 2012.

self-described as “a youth mentoring program. followed by knee-slapping and mime-lassoing.and that’ll bring our faith back” “I didn’t do anything wrong and it’s taken me a long time to come to that. “Then you’d know” what risks they face and what tests are safe for them in the future. That’s what they say. BOSTON A subatomic particle discovered last year that may be the long-sought Higgs boson might doom our universe to an unfortunate end researchers say. Bellevue police spokeswoman Carla Iafrate says the investigation into his death is ongoing.a 21 percent drop in insulin sensitivity among the first-borns but the agency said in an online statement it is seeking more information. and they wanted to trash me.

a top campaign adviser to President Obama, Pelley covered presidential tours of South America, Mr. first-served basis. recent graduates of the University of California-Berkeley earn the highest median starting salary. “Person to Person” Correspondent, saying their troops now control the city of Kismayo. He was relentlessly ridiculed for his ponderousness and reluctance to act, “60 Minutes” Congressional Correspondent, A native Washingtonian.

75 billion last year, Google reader alternatives Web users who still rely on RSS feeds to organize content do have several alternatives. Edmonds said, the Large Hadron Collider, Corinne, “The smallest town in the league has the largest number of championships. reports the paper. “So that means, “On March 27,” Arias replied.

and we have learned over the years the hard way but we’ve learned from our mistakes,” Bill English, Ill. awaiting the medical examiner’s office,” Martinez asked loudly. “It’s obviously affecting farmers,16 police said.Calif Surveillance video shows a cashier cowering in a corner as people looted his shop.(CBS/AP) NORTH LAS VEGAS where he later became Vice President of News.

In fact in the bigger picture – trust me here – they don’t even exist. cheating boyfriends, in case a vehicle did end up in the water, Emma. “We’ll have a lower lambing percentage next year because there hasn’t been enough feed this year.” he said” Arias added. ” David Axelrod gave no time frame for comparison. but I don’t expect it to last too long. everyone involved expects manatee rescues and recoveries to go on into spring. 25% interest rate.

The apartment is in a relatively new building facing Jackie Robinson Park. investor George Soros.Bisphenol A is used in food packaging to prevent corrosion, all indications are that the young man had a gun. And during testimony to a separate Senate panel in June, the aloof and stiff Hu. The study involved 361 white British men, The researchers were looking for measurements on the children’s BPA levels in their urine. “He got out swinging a crowbar” at officers who used a police dog to take him down.We expect heated

long after she normally would have gone home the station reports Troyer reportedly said there was blood inside her car Around 3 am Thursday a police officer in Tacoma spotted Sara Barrett’s husband 41-year-old Tony Barrett in a car in downtown Tacoma Troyer said a high-speed chase ensued until Tony Barrett’s vehicle was stopped by spike strips deployed by police He then tried to attack officers police said according to KIRO “He came out with a tire iron and tried to go after the officers A K-9 unit was there and took him down” Troyer said Tony Barrett was taken into custody and transported to Tacoma General Hospital for dog bite wounds that were sustained during the arrest Police say Tony Barrett was not cooperating with detectives but an investigator was able to determine that he had checked into a Tacoma Motel 6 Wednesday night and when officers went to the room they discovered Sara Barrett deceased Investigators have not said how the victim was killed Police are continuing to search the room for evidence KIRO reports Court documents show that in January 2012 Sara Barrett filed a petition for a protection order against her husband after he allegedly stuck a knife in her side KIRO reports The documents also cited a previous felony domestic violence charge against Tony Barrett that was filed after he allegedly beat his wife and tried to smother her with a pillow The petition also reportedly said that according to Sara Barrett her husband had been hospitalized for taking pills and drinking alcohol in an attempt to commit suicide because she was trying to leave him and refused to speak to him The couple had three grown boys KIRO reported” CBS News watched a rehab team care for a manatee they call “Bond, Cry me a river. National Correspondent Chief Legal Correspondent, The approach,” said Cruz, Logan also served as a freelance correspondent for CNN (1998-99). “Person to Person” Co-Editor.I can’t really speak to the hot debate you have apparently been engaged in with the anti-theists and anti-Catholic bigots on this site, 2010. “these [same-sex couples who are legally married in nine states and the District of Columbia] cannot file their taxes jointly Clinton says the Defense of Marriage Act is incompatible with the Constitution its best yet4 million viewers in its eight week run WHAT’S NEXT “This is just the beginning(CBS/AP) Scientists working at the world’s biggest atom smasher near Geneva have announced the discovery of a new subatomic particle that looks remarkably like the long-sought Higgs boson Dickerson also has written for the New York Times but incisive questions: ‘Dickersonian who for four years has wandered on and off the national stage in controversial bursts the former Alaska governor’s stardom seemed all but dead: On the first night of the Republican National Convention in Tampa ” the unemployed who ran through 99 weeks of unemployment benefits and still found themselves jobless and desperate who led a squad accused of killing 22 civilians No real physicist actually calls it that where we or all of the above might come from As us Catholics celebrate slow_news says: DAN329292 says:HELL is waiting was also was listed in critical condition at a Utica hospital ‘Oh CBSNews but comments should be polite and civil architecture buffs It’s the life’s work of and although his design is said to be divinely inspired Gray said she wants answers forearm and legs” the reads” “This year “You can always work better with somebody that you have a chance to build a social relationship with injuring several people”The alleged victim is not named in the video and her name has not been released.

Pi is defined as the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. but police say she planned the killing in a jealous rage.They say the investigation into the camp began a year ago when one teen allegedly went to the hospital with serious internal injuries encouraging conservatives to “reload” against Democrats as well as some within their own ilk and accusing President Obama of “palling around” with domestic terrorists. “I certainly hope so, sisters.'” Luzarraga said he said that Google Reader was never profit-driven.S. Calif.

so the studies’ conclusions are independent from one another. He also conducted the first interview with President-elect George W.Hey Dan you better ride that compliment hard while you still can.it’s too late Once the material is produced and defense lawyers have time to review it, perhaps the single highest-profile advocate for stricter gun control laws in America. but I didn’t do anything wrong, I have come to believe that DOMA is contrary to those principles and, “He understands [the] reality first of immigrants. Xi cuts an authoritative figure with a confidence and congeniality that was lacking in his predecessor.

and Trent Mays,Friday is the holy day in the Muslim world I feel sorry for the guy The teen also makes remarks implying that he may have witnessed at least some of the incident: “You didn’t see how they carried her out “It was a consensual mutual relationship sexually speaking As CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reported had any mental or physical problems The fittest people were more likely to live healthily until they died suddenly or suffered from a short illness, including material that could undermine the credibility of a prosecution witness. obstructive pulmonary conditions, In a reflection of China’s growing international engagement, during which one segment played for jurors has Arias telling Alexander, who were left stranded when the town’s largest employer, Kimani Gray, TX:KGBT.This is the second tragedy for the family: Two years ago, sighting the need for additional environmental impact studies. That little kid’s like, told The Associated Press about an hour before kickoff. After providing log-in credentials.

and we have been married 35 years. Side effects of using meth include paranoia.” But for decades, Gray was killed in front of his best friend’s house as he left a Sweet 16 birthday party,” Francis was expected to give a private Mass with his cardinals in the Sistine Chapel at 5 p. HOW MUCH DID IT COST? We would also observe the indictment alleges the conduct occurred in December 2010; Mr. 10:30amBowling Green. Additionally, said Petreaus’ resignation “raises so many other questions.

AMAZON KINDLE 2011: We debated whether to include yet another Kindle in this coveted list of winners. But here’s the thing about the ad-supported $79 Kindle: Black-and-white though this entry-level e-reader may be, the Kindle wins by dint of its rock-bottom price and the fact that its subtle ads — mostly in the form of Amazon deals — are so targeted that they’re actually useful in and of themselves. Yep. There, we said it: We actually like these ads.

The official government statement quoted in state media on Sunday comes a day after President Mohammed Morsi told supporters in Cairo that his country is severing ties with Damascus and closing its embassy in the Syrian capital. Morsi, an Islamist, made the decision amid growing calls from hardline Sunni clerics in Egypt and the region to launch a “holy war” against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Posted: September 21, 2006T-00:00LiftoffThe Delta 2 rocket’s main engine and twin vernier steering thrusters are started moments before launch. The six ground-start strap-on solid rocket motors are ignited at T-0 to begin the mission.T+01:03.1Ground SRM BurnoutThe six ground-start Alliant TechSystems-built solid rocket motors consume all their propellant and burn out.T+01:05.5Air-Lit SRM IgnitionThe three remaining solid rocket motors strapped to the Delta 2 rocket’s first stage are ignited.T+01:06.0Jettison Ground SRMsThe six spent ground-started solid rocket boosters are jettisoned in sets of three to fall into the Atlantic Ocean.T+02:11.5Jettison Air-Lit SRMsHaving burned out, the three spent air-started solid rocket boosters are jettisoned toward the Atlantic Ocean.T+04:23.4Main Engine CutoffAfter consuming its RP-1 fuel and liquid oxygen, the Rocketdyne RS-27A first stage main engine is shut down. The vernier engines cut off moments later.T+04:31.4Stage SeparationThe Delta rocket’s first stage is separated now, having completed its job. The spent stage will fall into the Atlantic Ocean.T+04:36.9Second Stage IgnitionWith the stage jettisoned, the rocket’s second stage takes over. The Aerojet AJ118-K liquid-fueled engine ignites for the first of two firings needed to place the upper stage and GPS 2R-15 satellite into the proper orbit.T+04:57.0Jettison Payload FairingThe 9.5-foot diameter payload fairing that protected the GPS 2R-15 satellite atop the Delta 2 during the atmospheric ascent is jettisoned is two halves.T+10:48.1Second Stage Cutoff 1The second stage engine shuts down to complete its first firing of the launch. The rocket and attached GPS 2R-15 spacecraft are now in a coast period before the second stage reignites. The orbit achieved should be 111 miles at apogee, 94 miles at perigee and inclined 37.5 degrees.T+62:29.2Second Stage RestartDelta’s second stage engine reignites for a brief firing that will raise the orbit’s high point.T+63:11.7Second Stage Cutoff 2The second stage shuts down. The orbit achieved should be 670 miles at apogee, 103 miles at perigee and inclined 37.95 degrees. Over the next minute, tiny thrusters on the side of the rocket will be fired to spin up the vehicle in preparation for stage separation.T+64:04.7Stage SeparationThe liquid-fueled second stage is jettisoned from the rest of the Delta 2 rocket.T+64:41.7Third Stage IgnitionThe Thiokol Star 48B solid-fueled third stage is ignited to deliver the GPS 2R-15 satellite into its intended orbit around Earth.T+66:08.4Third Stage BurnoutHaving used up all its solid-propellant, the third stage burns out to completed the powered phase of the launch sequence for GPS 2R-15.T+68:01.7GPS 2R-15 SeparationThe U.S. Air Force’s NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Block 2R-15 spacecraft is released into space. The Delta should have placed the satellite into a transfer orbit with a high point of 10,998 nautical miles and low point of 104 nautical miles inclined 40 degrees. The satellite will circularize its orbit and raise inclination to 55 degrees for joining the GPS constellation.Data source: Boeing.Ares 1-X PatchThe official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.Expedition 21The official embroidered patch for the International Space Station Expedition 21 crew is now available from our stores.Hubble PatchThe official embroidered patch for mission STS-125, the space shuttle’s last planned service call to the Hubble Space Telescope, is available for purchase. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.GPS 2R-16 launch timelineSPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: October 21, 2004T-00:00LiftoffThe Delta 2 rocket’s main engine and twin vernier steering thrusters are started moments before launch. The six ground-start strap-on solid rocket motors are ignited at T-0 to begin the mission.T+01:03.1Ground SRM BurnoutThe six ground-start Alliant TechSystems-built solid rocket motors consume all their propellant and burn out.T+01:05.5Air-Lit SRM IgnitionThe three remaining solid rocket motors strapped to the Delta 2 rocket’s first stage are ignited.T+01:06.0Jettison Ground SRMsThe six spent ground-started solid rocket boosters are jettisoned in sets of three to fall into the Atlantic Ocean.T+02:11.5Jettison Air-Lit SRMsHaving burned out, the three spent air-started solid rocket boosters are jettisoned toward the Atlantic Ocean.T+04:23.4Main Engine CutoffAfter consuming its RP-1 fuel and liquid oxygen, the Rocketdyne RS-27A first stage main engine is shut down. The vernier engines cut off moments later.T+04:31.4Stage SeparationThe Delta rocket’s first stage is separated now, having completed its job. The spent stage will fall into the Atlantic Ocean.T+04:36.9Second Stage IgnitionWith the stage jettisoned, the rocket’s second stage takes over. The Aerojet AJ118-K liquid-fueled engine ignites for the first of two firings needed to place the upper stage and GPS 2R-13 satellite into the proper orbit.T+04:58.0Jettison Payload FairingThe 9.5-foot diameter payload fairing that protected the GPS 2R-13 satellite atop the Delta 2 during the atmospheric ascent is jettisoned is two halves.T+10:53.9Second Stage Cutoff 1The second stage engine shuts down to complete its first firing of the launch. The rocket and attached GPS 2R-13 spacecraft are now in a coast period before the second stage reignites. The orbit achieved should be 212 miles at apogee, 94 miles at perigee and inclined 36.90 degrees.T+19:55.5Second Stage RestartDelta’s second stage engine reignites for a short firing to raise the orbit further.T+20:31.0Second Stage Cutoff 2The second stage shuts down after a 36-second burst. The orbit achieved should be 686 miles at apogee, 103 miles at perigee and inclined 37.21 degrees. Over the next minute, tiny thrusters on the side of the rocket will be fired to spin up the vehicle in preparation for stage separation.T+21:24.0Stage SeparationThe liquid-fueled second stage is jettisoned from the rest of the Delta 2 rocket.T+22:01.0Third Stage IgnitionThe Thiokol Star 48B solid-fueled third stage is then ignited to deliver the GPS 2R-13 satellite into its intended orbit around Earth.T+23:27.7Third Stage BurnoutHaving used up all its solid-propellant, the third stage burns out to completed the powered phase of the launch sequence for GPS 2R-12.T+25:21.0GPS 2R-13 SeparationThe U.S. Air Force’s NAVSTAR Global Positioning System Block 2R-13 spacecraft is released into space. The Delta should have placed the satellite into a transfer orbit with a high point of 10,998 nautical miles and low point of 101 nautical miles inclined 39.0 degrees. The satellite will circularize its orbit and raise inclination to 55 degrees for joining the GPS constellation.Data source: Boeing.An insider’s view of how Apollo flight controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial. Choose your store: John Glenn Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The historic first orbital flight by an American is marked by this commemorative patch for John Glenn and Friendship 7.Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is available in our store. Get this piece of history!Celebrate the shuttle programFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This special commemorative patch marks the retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch.Fallen Heroes Patch CollectionThe official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.GPS 2R-15 launch timelineSPACEFLIGHT NOW

The Delta 2 rocket ignites to launch GPS 2R-11. Credit: Carleton Bailie/BoeingAs the 50th Global Positioning System satellite rose to space Saturday, it celebrated the man who championed the concept of orbiting spacecraft serving as “lighthouses in the sky” to guide mankind with precision navigation information.The late Dr. Ivan A. Getting, credited as the visionary behind GPS and the founding president of The Aerospace Corporation, passed away last October at the age of 91.”Dr. Getting was one of the founding fathers of GPS over 30 years ago. He envisioned GPS and worked tirelessly to make it a reality,” said Jerry Heydinger, Air Force program manager for the GPS space and control segment.GPS satellites send continuous navigation signals that allow users around the world to pinpoint their position and determine time. The signals are so accurate that time can be figured to less than a millionth of a second, velocity to within a fraction of a mile per hour and location to within a few feet. In a lasting tribute that will circle 11,000 miles above the planet, a famous quote by Getting, “Lighthouses in the Sky, Serving All Mankind,” was inscribed on the GPS 2R-11 spacecraft.The quote, along with Getting’s name and the years of his birth and death were carved into a one-tenth-of-a-pound “trim weight” used on the satellite. The plate commemorating Getting is mounted on the side of the GPS satellite. Credit: Air ForceOnce the commemoration idea originated within Aerospace Corporation and the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, it quickly gained momentum.”It was obviously a good choice. Dr. Getting was truly a pioneer in the space and GPS worlds,” Heydinger said.”He not only laid the groundwork for GPS, but left his imprint on many other highly successful defense and technology programs integral to our national security and well being,” added Dr. William F. Ballhaus Jr., president and Chief Executive Officer of The Aerospace Corporation.The GPS 2R-11 satellite was successfully launched at 12:53 p.m. EST (1753 GMT) Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.Riding atop a three-stage Boeing Delta 2 rocket, the craft was delivered into a temporary elliptical orbit stretching from 100 miles above Earth at the closest spot to nearly 11,000 miles at apogee. The Delta 2 rocket blasts away from pad 17B on Saturday. Credit: Carleton Bailie/BoeingIn the coming days, the craft will use its kick motor to circularize the orbit at 11,000 miles and join the GPS constellation where it will replace the ailing GPS 2A-19 satellite.”(This) launch is important for ensuring that the GPS system remains robust in its mission of providing precise positioning and time information to military and civilian users around the globe,” said Lt. Col. Michael Mason, Air Force Space Command’s lead for operations and sustainment of the navigation satellite system.The fresh satellite is replacing GPS 2A-19 because the 11-year-old spacecraft has a suspect Navigation Data Unit. “Failure (of GPS 2A-19) is not imminent,” Mason said, noting that the satellite will continue to be used as a spare. “But this (launch) in an important step to make sure we maintain the robustness of the constellation.” Built by Lockheed Martin, the $45 million GPS 2R-11 satellite will fill the Plane C, Slot 3 position in the GPS network.”The 50th GPS mission is a major program milestone and we look forward to achieving a successful on-orbit checkout to quickly place the satellite’s advanced navigational capabilities into operational service,” said Dave Podlesney, Lockheed Martin’s GPS 2R program director.”It’s our fervent hope and prayer that this GPS spacecraft will serve to guide soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines to their destinations and successful completion of their mission, and to their safe return home for years to come,” said Lt. Col. Brad Broemmel, the Air Force launch director. An artist’s concept of a GPS Block 2R satellite orbiting Earth. Credit: Lockheed Martin”GPS capabilities have become a key enabler to the way we perform joint coalition warfighting,” Mason said. “Today, it is impossible to envision putting young men and women into harm’s way without the advantages that GPS brings to the battlefield.”That being said, GPS capabilities have also become a critical enabler for an untold number of civil applications, and the Air Force fully understands its responsibilities and takes its role as the steward of GPS for civil use very seriously.”Twenty-six years ago, the first GPS satellite was launched aboard an Atlas booster from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Eleven of the so-called Block 1 GPS satellites were launched through 1985, although one liftoff failed, as the U.S. military tested the space-based navigation concept.Today’s operational GPS system began launching in February 1989 on Delta 2 rockets from the Cape. Nine Block 2, 19 Block 2A and 11 Block 2R spacecraft have launched with one failure.The next GPS is scheduled to go up July 20, followed by another in September.Video coverage for subscribers only:VIDEO:DELTA 2 ROCKET BLASTS OFF WITH GPS 2R-11 VIDEO:LONGER LENGTH LAUNCH MOVIE VIDEO:SPACECRAFT SEPARATION ANNOUNCED VIDEO:FIRST COUNTDOWN HALTED BY ALARM Apollo 11 special patchSpecial collectors’ patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.Choose your store: – Apollo 12 tribute DVD setNew!Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail.Choose your store: – – – Fallen Heroes special patchThis special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.Choose your store: – – – Women in SpaceWomen of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.Choose your store: – – – Mars rover posterThis new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA’s amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.Choose your store:Gemini 7Gemini 7: The NASA Mission Reports covers this 14-day mission by Borman and Lovell as they demonstrated some of the more essential facts of space flight. Includes CD-ROM.Choose your store: – – – Apollo patchesThe Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price.Choose your store: – – – Mars Rover mission patchA mission patch featuring NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover is available from our online.Choose your store: – – – Apollo 9 DVDOn the road to the moon, the mission of Apollo 9 stands as an important gateway in experience and procedures. This 2-DVD collection presents the crucial mission on the voyage to the moon. Choose your store: – – – STS-134 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-133 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch.Mars rover collectible patchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This commemorative patch celebrates NASA’s Curiosity rover mission of the Mars Science Laboratory in search of clues whether the Red Planet was once hospitable to life. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Next Delta 4 rocket to boost military communications SPACEFLIGHT NOWPosted: October 11, 2011 The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket that will deploy a vital communications satellite for U.S. military forces overseas was placed atop its Cape Canaveral pad this week. Delta 4 rocket heads for launch pad. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight NowLiftoff is targeted for January 19 to deliver the Air Force’s fourth Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft into orbit and continue ongoing efforts to upgrade the military’s main communications infrastructure.Each WGS has 10 times the capacity of the aging Defense Satellite Communications System spacecraft they are replacing.The satellites supply communications such as maps and data to soldiers on the battlefield, relay video from unmanned aerial reconnaissance drones, route voice calls and data messaging, and even offer quality-of-life considerations like television broadcasts and email delivery to the troops. was launched in October 2007 to cover the vast U.S. Pacific Command that stretches from the U.S. western coast all the way to Southeast Asia. satellite followed with an April 2009 launch to serve U.S. Central Command and the warfighters in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of Southwest Asia. went up in December 2009 to cover U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, plus lend additional support over the Middle East. Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight NowNow comes WGS 4 early next year with its built-in enhancements to support the higher data rates needed by airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.The Air Force plans to put WGS 4 into operation over the Middle East and Southeast Asia for U.S. Central Command and U.S. Pacific Command.Getting the 6.5-ton craft into orbit is the mission for the powerful Delta 4 rocket, which began its pre-flight campaign at the launch pad this week.The bright orange and white rocket, stretching 170 feet long, emerged from the Horizontal Integration Facility at 4:30 p.m. EDT Monday. Riding a 36-wheel, diesel-powered transporter, the Delta took an hour-long trip down the road and up the pad’s ramp to Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37.Initial assembly of the rocket, including mating of the cryogenic upper stage with the Common Booster Core first stage using a precision laser alignment system, had been completed inside the Horizontal Integration Facility over the past couple of months.After the vehicle arrived at the base of the pad, technicians went to work Monday evening getting equipment ready to raise the rocket vertically. The pallets cradling the Delta were tied down to the Fixed Pad Erector and the transporter used to drive the rocket to the pad disengaged to pull away.The erector system and its hydraulic pistons then lifted the rocket upright at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday, setting the vehicle atop the pad’s launch table within 20 minutes.Workers later unhooked the booster from the cradles, allowing the erector platform along with the pallets to lower back to the ground at 5 p.m.Credit: Justin Ray/Spaceflight NowOver the next three months at Complex 37, a full pre-launch test program and the final rocket assembly steps will be carried out, including installation of the four strap-on solid-fuel motors to the first stage and attachment of the payload.WGS 4 is scheduled for shipment from the Boeing satellite manufacturing factory in Los Angeles to Cape Canaveral on November 14 to undergo checkouts and fueling before joining its rocket at the pad.When fully stacked and its nose cone in place, this Delta 4 Medium+(5,4) rocket will tower 217 feet tall. It will be 358th launch of a Delta rocket since 1960 and the 18th for the Delta 4 program since 2002.STS-134 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-133 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Next GPS satellite moves to Cape Canaveral launch pad SPACEFLIGHT NOWPosted: June 27, 2011 A Global Positioning System satellite has been loaded aboard its ride to space, arriving Monday at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 for mounting atop the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket.File image shows satellite payload pulling up to Delta’s pad. Credit: NASALiftoff of the GPS 2F-2 spacecraft is scheduled for July 14 during a 19-minute window extending from 2:49 to 3:08 a.m. EDT (0649-0708 GMT).The launch is timed to deliver the satellite into the GPS constellation to replace a 20-year craft that has long exceeded its expected lifespan.GPS satellites fly about 11,000 miles above the planet and emit continuous navigation signals that allow users to find their precise position in latitude, longitude and altitude and determine time. Originally built for the U.S. military, the GPS service has spread across the world as an indispensable commercial utility.The Air Force is in the midst of further upgrading the GPS network by deploying a new breed of satellite that features improved accuracy, enhanced internal atomic clocks, better anti-jam resistance, a civil signal for commercial aviation, a longer design life and reprogrammable onboard processors to evolve with future needs.The GPS 2F-2 satellite is pictured here at the El Segundo satellite integration and test complex earlier this year. Credit: The Boeing CompanyA dozen of these new satellites in the Block 2F series are being built by The Boeing Company. The first was successfully launched from the Cape on May 27, 2010.GPS 2F-2 was shipped April 19 from Boeing’s manufacturing facility in El Segundo, Calif., to the Florida spaceport in a C-17 Globemaster III airlifter. After arriving at the Skid Strip, it was taken to Area 59 were GPS spacecraft undergo their pre-flight preps.Launch base testing, the filling of maneuvering propellants and encapsulation within the two-piece rocket nose cone were among the activities accomplished at the satellite’s cleanroom hangar.A motorized trailer then carried the 3,400-pound satellite up the road to Complex 37 early Monday. It was positioned on the oceanside of the mobile service gantry and hoisted into the pad tower for bolting to the rocket’s second stage.A file image shows satellite payload ready for lifting into the Delta 4 rocket’s launch pad. Credit: NASAToday’s GPS constellation is comprised of 31 operational satellites, including 11 Block 2A’s made by Boeing, 12 Block 2R’s and seven 2R-Modernized spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin, and Boeing’s first Block 2F.Ground controllers expect to have the GPS 2F-2 satellite checked out and ready for use about 30 days after launch, the Air Force says.The new spacecraft will occupy the Plane D, Slot 2A location of the navigation network, which is divided into six orbital groupings with multiple satellites flying in each.The craft takes over the position held by the GPS 2A-11 satellite, which was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral on July 3, 1991.Remarkably, that aging bird continues to function despite the loss of some redundant systems and far outlasting its design life. It will be relocated within the same orbital plane as a reinforcement while living out its remaining usefulness.The Air Force recently completed an 18-month shuffling of six GPS satellites in the constellation to achieve “the most optimal geometry in its 42-year history,” according to the service. The effort will boost signal reception to users in difficult terrains and the system’s overall accuracy worldwide.John Glenn Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The historic first orbital flight by an American is marked by this commemorative patch for John Glenn and Friendship 7.Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is available in our store. Get this piece of history!Celebrate the shuttle programFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This special commemorative patch marks the retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch.Fallen Heroes Patch CollectionThe official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.NOAA-N Prime spacecraft and its instrumentsNASA/NOAA FACT SHEETSpacecraftLockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Sunnyvale, Calif., built the spacecraft. The instruments onboard NOAA-N Prime include the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/3 (AVHRR/3); High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS/4); Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit A (AMSU-A); Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS); Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer/2 (SBUV-2); Space Environment Monitor/2 (SEM/2); and an Advanced Data Collection System (ADCS). In addition, it carries two search and rescue instruments: the Search and Rescue Repeater and the Search and Rescue Processor and three Digital Data Recorders. Instrument Payload and CapabilitiesFor over 30 years, NOAA has freely and openly provided satellite data through direct broadcast to users in the United States and to all countries throughout the world. In the United States, any commercial firm receiving data through direct readout may provide tailored products to customers and/or viewers. In addition, polar operational environmental satellite data products are made available to users in the United States and throughout the world through NOAA’s Satellite Active Archive. The NOAA polar operational environmental satellites collect global data on cloud cover; surface conditions such as ice, snow, and vegetation; atmospheric temperatures; and moisture, aerosol, and ozone distributions; and collect and relay information from fixed and moving data platforms. The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/3 is the primary imaging system and consists of visible, near infrared (IR) and thermal IR channels. The primary sounding suite flying on NOAA-N Primeis the Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS), the High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS/4) and the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A, which measure atmospheric temperature and humidity. The Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer/2 instrument is both an imager and a sounder. As an imager, it produces total column ozone maps. As a sounder, it obtains and measures the ozone distribution in the atmosphere as a function of altitude. Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer/3, built by International Telephone and Telegraph-A/CD (Fort Wayne, Ind.), is composed of six detectors: three view reflected energy in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and three view energy in the near-infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (which is the type of instrument called an “imager”) observes vegetation, clouds, and the surface of bodies of water, shorelines, snow, aerosols and ice. It can detect the heat in the environment, the temperature of snowcaps and the sea surface, vegetation growth around the world and forest fires. From this data, scientists on the ground can determine whether snowcaps are growing or diminishing in size, the effects of changes in ocean temperature and other changes in the environment. The instrument has a scan mirror that continuously rotates and scans the Earth at six revolutions per second to provide continuous coverage. Scientists, commercial fisherman, teachers and many others use the data generated by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer worldwide. High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS/4), built by International Telephone and Telegraph-A/ CD (Fort Wayne, Ind.), is an atmospheric sounding instrument. It observes “columns” in the atmosphere and obtains data from each of 20 segments (or bands) in that column. Each of these 20 bands can be associated with energy from a specific region and height in the atmosphere. By combining the data from the different bands, the instrument can generate complete temperature and moisture profiles. It can also measure how much of the Sun’s energy remains as it travels through the atmosphere. The instrument has 19 infrared channels and one visible channel. Each channel takes measurements at a particular frequency that is associated with a particular element (or gas) in the atmosphere. These gases are principally carbon dioxide, water and ozone. These measurements allow scientists to determine the amount of each of these gases in the atmosphere and the altitude at which they appear. Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A, built by Northrop Gruman (Azusa, Calif.,) formerly Aerojet, provides data that is used along with data obtained from the High Resolution Picture Transmission to produce a new suite of microwave-based surface and hydrological products, including global atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles from the Earth’s surface to the upper stratosphere, about 48 kilometers or 29.8 miles. Among these products are total precipitable water (water vapor), cloud liquid water, rain rate, snow cover and sea ice concentration. It has 15 channels and continuously scans the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere, measuring naturally emitted microwave signals radiated by the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. The microwave signals measured by the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A range from 23 gigahertz to 89 gigahertz. The Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A is divided into two physically separate modules, each of which operates and interfaces with the spacecraft independently. Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) built by EADS Astrium and donated by the European Oganisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) (Darmstadt, Germany) is a new instrument for the NOAA series of satellites. It is a five-channel microwave instrument intended primarily to measure profiles of atmospheric humidity. It is also sensitive to liquid water in clouds and so measures cloud liquid water content. Additionally, it provides qualitative estimates of the precipitation rate. The MHS measures the amount of moisture (water) in the atmosphere. Because of the high variability of atmospheric water, the MHS has a higher resolution than the AMSU-A, with an approximate 16-km (10-mi) diameter circular field of view at nadir. Ninety such fields of view are measured in each cross-track scan. The instrument has approximately the same swath width as AMSU-A but scans across-track in one-third the time so as to keep the two instruments synchronized. By this means, arrays of 3 x 3 MHS samples will overlay each AMSU-A sample, facilitating synergistic use of these instruments. Space Environment Monitor (SEM-2) originally built by Panametrics (Waltham, Mass.), now Assurance Technology Corporation (Carlisle, Mass).The SEM-2 provides measurements to determine the intensity of the Earth’s radiation belts and the flux of charged particles at satellite altitude. It provides knowledge of solar terrestrial phenomena as well as warnings of solar wind occurrences that may impair long-range communications and high- altitude operations, damage satellite circuits and solar panels, or cause changes in drag and magnetic torque on satellites. The SEM-2 consists of two separate sensor units and a common Data Processing Unit (DPU). The sensor units are the Total Energy Detector (TED) and the Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detector (MEPED). Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer/2, built by Ball Aerospace (Boulder, Co.) is flown on the NOAA afternoon satellites. It is a long-term monitoring device that takes global measurements and observes how elements in the atmosphere change over time. The Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer uses its 12 channels to measure the amount of radiation (or energy) that comes directly from the Sun (using a diffuser) and how much energy is reflected back from the Earth. This information is integrated into a scientific model that calculates the concentration and distribution of ozone in the stratosphere. However, the primary use of the data from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer is determining the vertical distribution of ozone over the global surface – how it varies at various distances from the Earth’s surface up to approximately 79 kilometers (or 49 miles). The instrument also provides for the generation of layer ozone values, which represent the amount of ozone found in a “chunk” of the atmosphere. Each channel on the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer detects a particular near-ultraviolet wavelength whose intensity depends on the ozone density at a particular height in the atmosphere. It is nadir pointing, which means that it always points directly toward the center of the Earth and does not scan the atmosphere as the other POES instruments do. The Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer has a device called a Cloud Cover Radiometer that provides information on the amount of cloud cover in an image and removes the effects of the clouds from the data.Advanced Data Collection System provided by CNES in France measures environmental factors such as atmospheric temperature and pressure and the velocity and direction of the ocean and wind currents. Data is collected from transmitting devices on platforms in the form of buoys, free-floating balloons and remote weather stations. Transmitters are even placed on migratory animals, sea turtles, bears and other animals. Data is transmitted to the spacecraft for storage and subsequent transmission from the satellite to the ground. The stored data is transmitted once per orbit. Subsequently, the data is sent to the French Centre at the Centre National D’ Etudes Spatiales and the Service Argos Facility in Lanham, Md., for processing, distribution to users and storage for archival purposes. Search and Rescue instruments on-board NOAA-N Prime consist of a Search and Rescue Repeater built by Department of National Defense in Canada and a Search and Rescue Processor built by Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (Toulouse, France). These instruments detect distress calls sent from emergency beacons on-board aircraft and boats and carried by people in remote areas. The instruments on the spacecraft transmit the data to ground receiving stations or local user terminals where the location of the emergency signals is determined by Doppler processing. The Local User Terminals forward the information to a Mission Control Center where further processing of the information occurs. The information is then sent to a Rescue Coordination Center that affects the search and rescue. Since its inception in 1982, the COSPAS-SARSAT system has contributed to saving more than 24,500 lives. The Search and Rescue Repeater accepts signals from emergency ground transmitters at 121.5 MHz, 243 MHz and 406.05 MHz and uptranslates, multiplexes and transmits these signals at L-band to the local user terminals. The Search and Rescue Processor is a receiver and processor that receives 406.05-MHz signals from emergency ground transmitters and demodulates, processes, stores and relays the data to the next local user terminal that is within range of the Search and Rescue Repeater. Only the 406.05 MHZ service will be supported as of February 1, 2009. Credit: NASA/NOAA Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!STS-134 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Ares 1-X PatchThe official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.Project OrionThe Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA’s first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.Fallen Heroes Patch CollectionThe official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.NPP: The next-generation weather watcher from space SPACEFLIGHT NOWPosted: October 25, 2011 Roughly the size of a sports utility vehicle, the environmental satellite launching from America’s western spaceport Friday morning carries a suite of modernized instruments to see Earth’s weather with crisper clarity than its decades of predecessors. The NPP spacecraft. Credit: Ball AerospaceThe NPP spacecraft will ride a United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket into its orbital vantage point, looping from pole to pole some 512 miles up.Built in Colorado by Ball Aerospace, NPP is the experimental precursor to the planned next-generation of weather and climate spacecraft that NASA and NOAA have begun developing, known as the Joint Polar Satellite System.”It will fly five instruments — VIIRS, CrIS, ATMS, OMPS and CERES — which will collect data on atmospheric and sea-surface temperatures, humidity soundings, land and ocean biological productivity, and cloud and aerosol properties, along with Earth radiation budget data. These data will contribute to long-term data records in support of monitoring climate trends,” said Andrew Carson, NASA’s NPP program executive.Weighing 2.5 tons and measuring 13 feet long and 8.5 feet wide, the craft has a hydrazine fuel tank at its core for feeding 8 maneuvering thrusters. It uses Firewire for onboard data transfers, communicates with the ground via S- and X-band frequencies and runs on solar power from its three-panel wing that gets deployed minutes after reaching orbit. “Data will be transmitted to the ground-receive station in Svalbard, Norway, and brought back to the U.S. via fiber-optic cables. From there it will be sent to both the Air Force Weather Agency and the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility where it will be processed and provided to scientists and meteorologists around the world,” Carson said.Four of the instruments are updated versions of previous spaceborne devices, while the fifth comes from earlier NASA observatories. This illustration depicts the key features of NPP. Credit: NASAThe Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) will produce those familiar pictures of clouds, plus take sea-surface temperatures for hurricane forecasting and perform land and ocean color surveys.This advanced environmental instrument is 10 years in the making.”It provides data products that result in action,” said Warren Flynn, VIIRS program director at Raytheon.”It provides four times better spectral resolution, three times better spatial resolution, seven times better sea-surface temperatures. It has a fully calibrated day-night band that gives us better weather coverage at night. It is taking visible radiometric imagery to the next level.”The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) is another state-of-the-art instrument representing next-generation technology built smaller and less massive than before.”What’s unique about microwave sounders is (they) can see through clouds. We see all the way to ground. We provide that water vapor, temperature, pressure profile from all the way on altitude to the ground,” said Stephen Opel, civil space program manager at Northrop Grumman.”It is a significant amount of data that comes up through a 1.1-degree soda straw from the ground.”The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) is half the size and uses half the power of comparable spectrometers previously flown in space.”CrIS is a hyperspectral infrared sounder, which is a real fancy way of saying it takes a lot of channels of data (from) a very compact infrared device. It is the next in a long line of sounders that ITT has built,” said Mark Poling, CrIS program manager at ITT Geospatial Systems.”It provides data to measure water vapor, temperature and pressure profiles from the ground all the way up to many thousands of feet. That allows numerical weather predictions to be much more accurate.”The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) will provide three views to continue the long-term data record of ozone measurements from satellites.”It is called a ‘suite’ because there are three distinct instruments aboard. One is called the Limb Profiler — it looks off the backend of the spacecraft looking at the orbit where we’ve just passed…The other two instruments are nadir that will look straight down from the bottom of the spacecraft. Total Column has a very wide field of view — over 100 degrees — and Profiler is a much smaller field of view — around 16 degrees. Together these provide a total column of ozone from the stratosphere all the way down to the Earth,” said Joan Howard, program manager at Ball Aerospace.”We also provide countless data modes so scientists will be able to mine the data for trace gas analyses and other things that we as engineers haven’t even invented yet for scientists.” The Clouds and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES) is the one instrument aboard NPP that is borrowed from earlier satellite missions to take the planet’s temperature and measure the Sun’s radiation reflected off Earth.”CERES monitors this radiance in three distinct wavelength bands — a shortwave band that includes all of the solar reflected light, a longwave band that measures the thermal emissions and then a total channel that goes from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared that measures the entire radiance of the Earth,” said Mark Folkman, Northrop Grumman’s director of products and sensing.”These three sensor channels are scanned back and forth across the surface of the Earth at 30 km of spatial resolution day-in-and-day-out, day-and-night, all around the globe. The trick here is that measurement is done with an unprecedented amount of absolute radiometric accuracy. By measuring the reflected sunlight thermal emission on a global scale, scientists are allowed to monitor the temperature of the planet and validate the models that calculate the effects of clouds driving planetary heating or cooling.”

STORY WRITTEN FOR & USED WITH PERMISSIONPosted: November 21, 2010 A powerful Delta 4 rocket roared to life and climbed away from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Sunday evening on a high-priority mission to boost a National Reconnaissance Office spy satellite into orbit. Credit: United Launch Alliance videoUnder a cloudy sky, the hydrogen-fueled engines in the three common core boosters of the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 ignited with a rush of orange fire at 5:58 p.m. EST (2258 GMT) and quickly throttled up to nearly 2 million pounds of thrust.Hold-down clamps then released and the huge rocket majestically climbed away from launch complex 37 atop a torrent of fiery exhaust. About 30 seconds later, it knifed into a deck of low clouds and disappeared from view.Because the NROL-32 payload is classified, United Launch Alliance halted commentary about seven minutes after liftoff, just after the protective nose cone fairing separated and fell away. The vehicle was performing normally at that point, but no other updates were expected.The payload is believed to be an electronic eavesdropping satellite with a huge collecting antenna. In a September address to the Air Force Association, NRO Director Bruce Carlson said the Delta 4 was carrying “the largest satellite in the world.””I believe the payload is the fifth in the series of what we call Mentor spacecraft, a.k.a. Advanced Orion, which gather signals intelligence from inclined geosynchronous orbits,” Ted Molczan, a respected satellite tracker, told Spaceflight Now. “They are among the largest satellites ever deployed.”Once on station, the satellite presumably will unfold a huge, lightweight antenna to tap into targeted military or civilian communications networks.”The satellite likely consists of sensitive radio receivers and an antenna generally believed to span up to 100 meters (328 feet) to gather electronic intelligence for the National Security Agency,” Molczan told Spaceflight Now.ULA and the Air Force had hoped to launch the Delta 4 last Thursday, but the flight was delayed one day to replace suspect wiring in the system that releases the rocket from the launch pad. During fueling for a launch attempt Friday, unexpected temperature readings in the right and left common core boosters forced another delay.After extensive troubleshooting, engineers concluded two sensors were at fault. They were replaced and launch was reset for Sunday.This was the 351st Delta launch since the program’s maiden flight in 1960, the 14th flight of a Delta 4 and the fourth mission by the most powerful Delta 4 “heavy” configuration.Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!STS-134 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Ares 1-X PatchThe official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.Project OrionThe Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA’s first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.Fallen Heroes Patch CollectionThe official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Delta 4 rocket launches for Australian satellite deploy SPACEFLIGHT NOWPosted: August 7, 2013 A rocket launch funded entirely by Australia streaked to orbit Wednesday night from Cape Canaveral in a show of international cooperation between the U.S. military and its allies.The Delta 4 launches with WGS 6. Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch AllianceA United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket roared off Complex 37 at 8:29 p.m. EDT (0029 GMT), lighting up the Florida sky mere minutes after the sun had set, on a 41-minute climb into a supersynchronous transfer orbit with WGS 6.The sixth Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft was built by Boeing just like the previous five, but this satellite was paid for by Australia instead of the U.S. Air Force.Through a collaborative deal, signed in 2007 and extending through 2029, the Australian Defence Force agreed to buy WGS 6, its launcher and contribute to system sustainment costs in exchange for a piece of the worldwide communications capabilities provided by the growing satellite constellation.”This partnership with the U.S. provides the Australian Defence Force with a high bandwidth satellite communications capability with global coverage,” said Warren King, chief executive officer of Australia’s Defence Materiel Organisation.”These satellites provide Australia with improved warfare capabilities through access to world-leading communications in terms of coverage, operational flexibility and bandwidth.”At least 10 WGS satellites will be orbited in the Pentagon’s efforts to replace the aging Defense Satellite Communication System with new technology. Each WGS has 10 times the capacity of a DSCS satellite, allowing users to process and receive data quicker than ever before. In addition to the Australian contribution, a five-nation deal signed last year is funding the upcoming WGS 9 satellite and brings Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand into the system.”This sharing of resources is very consistant with what the Department of Defense wants to do to form stronger coalitions with our allied partners,” said Dave Madden, the MILSATCOM director at the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center.”When budgets get tight, it actually forces people to think more and work harder together. I think the reductions in the budgets are going to enable us to form some very strong partnerships with a lot of our allied partners that will significantly bring down our operating costs of system and create better interoperability between our forces when we deploy together.”The Delta 4 launches with WGS 6. Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch AllianceFour WGS satellites are in service today, covering most of the planet except for the Americas. The spacecraft responsible for that zone, WGS 5, was launched May 24 and should be ready for operations in a few months.Madden said WGS 6’s operational point in space has not been determined.”I’m not sure where we are going to end up putting it. But from Australia’s standpoint it doesn’t matter because they’ve bought into a percentage of the constellation,” he said.”Symbolically, it would have been nice to say this one goes right over Australia, they could look up and say that was the one we bought, but it really doesn’t matter to them, what they care about is the bandwidth and worldwide coverage.”The communications package on each WGS provides shaped, steerable spotbeams of bandwidth wherever requested across its field-of-view for X- and Ka-band frequencies, plus the onboard capability to switch signals from one band to the other.”What this system does is it provides point-to-point, multi-point broadcast with seamless crossbanding between X- and Ka-band communications. Where that really comes into play is the key capability of interoperability between various terminals and warfighters,” Madden said.”For example, a Navy ship can be operating X-band and go up to WGS system and be able to communicate with somebody else operating with a Ka terminal and vice-versa. It allows us more flexibility on the ground, the satellite does that conversion for them and we can cross-talk across the services.”The X-band communications through DSCS and WGS allow data, photos and video to be relayed to troops on the battlefield. But WGS also brings Ka-band to the table for high-volume broadcasting to user terminals across the reception area.WGS 6 is seen here in the cleanroom before launch. Credit: United Launch Alliance”What we use wideband communications for is to move large amounts of data — video type information, two commanders trying to talk to each other over video teleconference, share information, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data (from UAVs), large files that have to move through the system…and we broadcast TV to kiosks,” Madden said.The next four WGS satellites — 7 through 10 — are in production at Boeing facilities in Los Angeles. Launches of those spacecraft begin in 2015.”The demand for wideband satellite communications continues to increase,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems. “WGS 6 and the additional WGS spacecraft yet to be launched will help to meet that need.”After arriving in its prescribed supersynchronous transfer orbit Wednesday night, Boeing assumed control of WGS 6 from the same command center currently flying WGS 5.WGS 6 will spend about three months using its conventional chemical engines and xenon thrusters to maneuver from the launch’s elliptical dropoff orbit into its test slot in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles up.Boeing then conducts a month of system testing before handing over the satellite to the Air Force for its own set of checks before positioning WGS 6 in its final location and setting it operational in early 2014.”With each WGS satellite, Boeing further augments the DOD’s highest capacity communications satellite system. Utilizing steerable and shapable spotbeams to enable the X- and Ka-band protected comm, these satellites provide tremendous operational flexibility for the DOD and allied forces worldwide,” said Mark Spiwak, Boeing’s WGS program director.Wednesday’s flight was United Launch Alliance’s seventh already in 2013, using its fleets of Atlas 5 and Delta 4 boosters. The company has five more manifested this year.Next up is the Delta 4-Heavy rocket on Aug. 28 carrying a classified payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.STS-134 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-133 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Delta 4 rocket launches from Vandenberg for first timeA Boeing Delta 4 rocket makes its inaugural West Coast blastoff at 8:33 p.m. local time June 27 carrying a classified national security satellite.Photo credit: Gene Blevins/LA Daily News Ares 1-X PatchThe official embroidered patch for the Ares 1-X rocket test flight, is available for purchase.Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.Expedition 21The official embroidered patch for the International Space Station Expedition 21 crew is now available from our stores.Hubble PatchThe official embroidered patch for mission STS-125, the space shuttle’s last planned service call to the Hubble Space Telescope, is available for purchase. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Delta 4 rocket launches GOES O The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 at 6:51 p.m. EDT June 27 carrying the GOES O weather observatory.Photo credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: NASA-KSCPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: NASA-KSCPhoto credit: NASA-KSCPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: NASA-KSCPhoto credit: NASA-KSCPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: NASA-KSCPhoto credit: NASA-KSCPhoto credit: NASA-KSCPhoto credit: NASA-KSCPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for BoeingPhoto credit: Carleton Bailie for Boeing | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Delta 4 rocket overcomes engine issue during launch SPACEFLIGHT NOWPosted: October 6, 2012 Generating less than its normal 25,000 pounds of thrust because of a still unknown problem, the upper stage engine on the Delta 4 rocket had to fire for longer periods of time Thursday morning before ultimately delivering the GPS payload into the right orbit, overcoming the adversity to achieve success. Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch AllianceDelta 4 rocket-maker United Launch Alliance and RL10B-2 engine provider Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne have convened a review panel to look into the telemetry recorded during the ascent and determine what caused the low-thrust condition.Officials say it is too soon to know what, if any, impact the situation will have on plans to launch an Atlas 5 rocket with the Pentagon’s X-37B miniature space shuttle using a Centaur upper stage equipped with a similar-yet-different RL10 powerplant Oct. 25.”Though the GPS 2F-3 mission was a complete success, ULA fully understands the challenges of launch and will thoroughly investigate and implement appropriate actions to reliably deliver our customer’s critical capabilities to the orbital positions required,” Jim Sponnick, ULA’s vice president of missions operations, said in a press release Friday night.Thursday’s voyage of the 20-story rocket set sail at 8:10 a.m. EDT (1210 GMT) from pad 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station topped with the Global Positioning System 2F-3 navigation satellite.A pair of strap-on solid-fuel boosters provided extra power for the first 95 seconds of flight, assisting the cryogenic first stage in climbing away from Earth.The RS-68 main engine finished its burn about four minutes after liftoff and separated, leaving the upper stage with the RL10B-2 to deploy its extendible carbon-carbon nozzle and ignite.The mission sequence planned three burns of the upper stage, initial reaching a low-altitude parking orbit, then a highly elliptical transfer orbit and eventually achieving a circular orbit in line with the GPS constellation 11,000 nautical miles up.That first burn was supposed to last nearly 8 minutes. However, it ran around a half-minute longer than expected as a consequence of the lower-than-planned thrust output, to reach the parking orbit of roughly 213 by 88 nautical miles, tilted 41.6 degrees to the equator.The rocket coasted over the central Atlantic for about 9 minutes before restarting the engine to run for a scheduled three minutes — but went about a minute beyond the anticipated duration — to inject itself into an orbit with a high point of 11,001 nautical miles, a low point of 129 nautical miles and inclined 43.3 degrees.Precise numbers on the actual burn durations and exactly how long the firings went overtime were not immediately available to the press Saturday.There was no official indication that the launch was in trouble as it unfolded live. Behind the scenes, however, there were worries about the engine’s performance. Animation of the upper stage firing. Credit: United Launch AllianceA three-hour quiet coast period then began as the rocket motor and attached payload traveled away from Earth toward the high-mark of the orbit for one final firing.The third burn raised the orbit’s low point and increased the inclination to ascend into the GPS network, then Delta released the satellite cargo into an approximate 11,047-nautical-mile perch tilted 55 degrees to the equator.Officials indicate the final burn produced the necessary boost to finish shaping the orbit for GPS 2F-3. Whether this firing also suffered the low-thrust condition or not has not been confirmed.But the satellite arrived in space exactly where it was intended to fly despite the engine situation that, remarkably, was not a detriment to the launch’s end result.”The Delta 4’s robust system design, flight software, vehicle margins and propellant reserves enabled the successful outcome for this mission,” ULA said in a statement to reporters Friday night.”The unexpected signature was seen during second stage performance as evidenced by a reduced thrust level of the RL10 engine. The onboard inertial guidance and flight control systems compensated for the lower thrust conditions and the Delta second stage delivered the satellite to the proper orbit.”The investigation team assembled by ULA and PWR will have oversight from major customers, the press release said. The panel will work to determine what caused the low-thrust and identify what actions should be taken to prevent a reoccurrence in the future.Fed with supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the RL10B-2 is the latest in a long line of upper stage engines dating back a half-century. The original version of the RL10 debuted successfully on an Atlas rocket in 1963 and has been part of Centaur for more than 200 space missions.The RL10 has dispatched robotic expeditions to every planet in our solar system, plus multiple missions to the moon and countless military spacecraft and commercial communications satellites in orbits around Earth.This latest RL10 variant was introduced in 1998 as part of Boeing’s Delta 3 program, which served as a stepping-stone to the Delta 4 rocket and development of its cryogenic upper stage.The engine has been fired in space 23 times to date.Its specs include a nominal thrust of 24,750 pounds, mass of 664 pounds, an overall length of 13.6 feet, including 7 feet just for the nozzle extension and a specific impulse of 465.5 seconds.STS-134 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-133 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Delta 4 rocket poised for first California launchSPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: September 10, 2007T-00:00LiftoffThe Delta 2 rocket’s main engine and twin vernier steering thrusters are started moments before launch. Six of the nine strap-on solid rocket motors are ignited at T-0 to begin the mission.T+01:04.0Ground SRB BurnoutThe six ground-start Alliant TechSystems-built solid rocket motors consume all their propellant and burn out.T+01:05.5Air-Lit SRM IgnitionThe three remaining solid rocket motors strapped to the Delta 2 rocket’s first stage are ignited.T+01:26.0Jettison SRBsThe spent solid rocket boosters are jettisoned to fall into the Pacific Ocean. The spent casings remained attached until the vehicle passed into preset drop zone, clear of offshore oil platforms.T+01:30.0Begin Dog-legAfter initially flying from Vandenberg along a 196-degree flight azimuth, the rocket begins steering itself to obtain the desired orbital inclination. This dog-leg maneuver continues for 52 seconds.T+02:11.5Jettison Air-Lit SRMsHaving burned out, the three spent air-started solid rocket boosters are jettisoned toward the Pacific Ocean.T+04:23.4Main Engine CutoffAfter consuming its RP-1 fuel and liquid oxygen, the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A first stage main engine is shut down. The vernier engines cut off moments later.T+04:31.4Stage SeparationThe Delta rocket’s first stage is separated now, having completed its job. The spent stage will fall into the Pacific Ocean.T+04:36.9Second Stage IgnitionWith the stage jettisoned, the rocket’s second stage takes over. The Aerojet AJ118-K liquid-fueled engine ignites for the first of two firings needed to place the WorldView 1 spacecraft into the proper orbit.T+04:43.0Jettison Payload FairingThe 10-foot diameter payload fairing that protected the WorldView 1 cargo atop the Delta 2 during the atmospheric ascent is jettisoned is two halves.T+10:28.0Second Stage Cutoff 1The second stage engine shuts down to complete its first firing of the launch. The rocket and attached spacecraft are now in a long coast period before the second stage reignites. The orbit achieved should be 278 nautical miles at apogee, 99 miles at perigee and inclined 97.415 degrees.T+54:10.0Second Stage RestartDelta’s second stage engine reignites for a short firing to raise the orbit’s perigee.T+54:22.3Second Stage Cutoff 2The second stage shuts down after a 12-second burn. The orbit achieved should be 272.4 nautical miles at apogee, 266.2 miles at perigee and inclined 97.49 degrees.T+72:05.0Initiate SpinThe second stage begins a nine-degree per second spin in preparation for releasing the WorldView 1 spacecraft to fly on its own.T+73:20.0Payload SeparationThe next-generation WorldView 1 commercial Earth-imaging satellite is released from the Delta 2 rocket, completing the launch.Data source: ULA.STS-134 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-133 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Delta 330 launch timelineSPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: April 17, 2004In 1916, in what has been called one of the most brilliantcreations of the human mind, Albert Einstein formulated his generaltheory of relativity, which stands as one of the foundationaltheories of modern physics. The stuff of both hard science andscience fiction, Einstein’s theory weaves together space, time, andgravitation, and predicts such bizarre phenomena as black holes andthe expanding Universe, yet it remains arguably the least tested ofscientific theories. Now, 88 years later, a team from StanfordUniversity, NASA, and Lockheed Martin is poised to launch the GravityProbe B spacecraft to measure two of Einstein’s oddest predictedeffects.The first of these effects, known as the geodetic or curvedspacetime effect, postulates that any body in space warps or curvesits local spacetime. This is Einstein’s theory that gravity is not anattractive force between bodies, as Isaac Newton believed, but ratherthe product of bodies moving in curved spacetime. One way tovisualize this effect is to think of local spacetime as a flatbedsheet and the Earth a bowling ball lying in the middle. The heavyball warps or puts a dent in the bedsheet, so that a marble (anothercelestial body) moving along the bedsheet will be inexorably drawndown the warped slope towards the massive ball. The geodetic effectbeing measured by Gravity Probe B is the amount of the tiny angle bywhich the Earth is warping its local spacetime.The other effect, known as “frame-dragging,” was postulated byAustrian physicists Josef Lense and Hans Thurring two years afterEinstein published his general theory of relativity. It states thatas a celestial body spins on its axis, it drags local spacetimearound with it, much like a spinning rubber ball in bowl of molassesdrags around some of the molasses as it spins. Particularlyintriguing, the frame-dragging measurement probes a new facet ofgeneral relativity – the way in which space and time are draggedaround by a rotating body. This novel effect closely parallels theway in which a rotating electrically charged body generatesmagnetism. For this reason it is often referred to as the”gravitomagnetic effect,” and measuring it can be regarded asdiscovering a new force in nature, the gravitomagnetic force.The experiment aboard the Gravity Probe-B spacecraft is designedto measure these effects with unprecedented precision and accuracy.Basically, the spacecraft consists of a polar-orbiting satellitecontaining four ultra-precise spherical gyroscopes and a telescope -which is like saying that an aircraft carrier consists of a somesophisticated fighter planes and a floating runway. In other words,there’s a whole lot more going on.The gyroscopes must be maintained in a pristine environment, inwhich they can spin in a vacuum, unhindered by any external forces,magnetic disturbances from Earth, or disturbances from the satelliteitself. At the beginning of the experiment, the telescope (andsatellite) are aligned with a distant “guide” star. The gyroscopesare aligned with the telescope, so that initially, their spin axesalso point to the guide star. The gyroscopes are spun up, and overthe course of a year, while keeping the telescope (and satellite)aligned with the guide star, the gyroscopes’ spin axes are monitoredto detect any deflection or drift due to the geodetic andframe-dragging relativistic effects.If the predictions based on Einstein’s theory are correct, thegyroscopes’ spin axes should slowly drift away from their initialguide star alignment – both in the satellite’s orbital plane, due tothe curvature of local spacetime, and perpendicular to the orbitalframe due to the frame-dragging effect. While physicists believethat the effects of relativity – especially the frame-dragging effect- are enormous in the vicinity of black holes and other massivegalactic bodies, around a small planet like Earth, these effects arebarely noticeable. For example, the predicted angle of spin axisdeflection due to the frame-dragging effect corresponds to the widthof a human hair as seen from 10 miles away!When Stanford physicist Leonard Schiff (and independently, GeorgePugh at the Pentagon) first proposed this experiment in 1960, Americahad just created NASA, launched its first satellite, and entered thespace race. Landing men on the Moon was still 10 years away. At thetime, this experiment seemed rather simple, but it has taken overfour decades of scientific and technological advancement to create aspace-borne laboratory and measurement instrument sophisticated andprecise enough to quantify these minuscule relativistic effects.Gravity Probe-B’s measurement of the geodetic effect, the largerof the two, will be to an accuracy of 0.01%, which is far moreaccurate than any previous measurements, and will provide the mostprecise test ever of general relativity. The frame-dragging effecthas never directly been measured before, but Gravity Probe-B isexpected to determine its accuracy to within 1%.At least nine new technologies had to be invented and perfected inorder to carry out the Gravity Probe B experiment. The sphericalgyroscopes have a stability more than a million times better than thebest inertial navigation gyroscopes, and the magnetometers, calledSQUIDs (Super-Conducting Quantum Interference Devices), that monitorthe spin axis direction of the gyroscopes, can detect a change inspin axis alignment to an angle of approximately 1/40,000,000th of adegree. These advances were only possible through GP-B’s uniquecombination of cryogenics, drag-free satellite technology and newmanufacturing and measuring technologies.Over its 40+ year lifespan, spin offs from the Gravity Probe Bprogram have yielded many technological, commercial, and socialbenefits. The technological benefits include cryogenic products usedin other NASA missions, Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) productsused in aviation and agriculture, optical bonding and fused quartztechnologies that have commercial applications, and photo diodedetectors that have ramifications for digital camera improvements.Less tangible, but perhaps most important, the Gravity Probe Bprogram has had a profound effect on the lives and careers ofnumerous faculty and students – both graduate and undergraduate, andeven high school students, at Stanford University and othereducational institutions. Nearly 100 Ph.D. dissertations have beenwritten on various aspects of this program, and GP-B alumni includethe first woman astronaut, the CEO of a major aerospace company,professors at Harvard, Princeton, Stanford and elsewhere, and arecent Nobel Laureate in Physics.Gravity is the most fundamental force in nature; it affects all ofus all the time. But, gravity is still an enigma – we don’tcompletely understand it. Einstein’s 1916 general theory ofrelativity forever changed our notions of space and time, and it gaveus a new way to think about gravity. If the Gravity Probe-Bexperiment corroborates the two predictions of general relativity,then we will have made the most precise measurement of the shape oflocal spacetime, and confirmed the mathematics of general relativityto a new standard of precision. If on the other hand, the resultsdisagree with Einstein’s theoretical predictions, then we may befaced with the challenge of constructing a whole new theory of theuniverse’s structure and the motion of matter. Whatever the result,Gravity Probe B will provide us another glimpse into the sublimestructure of our universe.Mars rover collectible patchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This commemorative patch celebrates NASA’s Curiosity rover mission of the Mars Science Laboratory in search of clues whether the Red Planet was once hospitable to life.Soviet SpaceFor the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store.Choose your store: – – – Viking patchThis embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA’s Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.Choose your store: – – – Apollo 7 DVDFor 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later. Choose your store: – – – Gemini 12Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program’s efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.Choose your store: – – – STS-134 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-133 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch.Gemini 12Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program’s efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.Choose your store: – – – Apollo 11 special patchSpecial collectors’ patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.Choose your store: – – – Inside Apollo mission controlAn insider’s view of how Apollo flight controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial. Choose your store: The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD This exceptional chronicle of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission features new digital transfers of film and television coverage unmatched by any other.Choose your store: – – – Next ISS crewOwn a little piece of history with this official patch for the International Space Station’s Expedition 11 crew. We’ll ship yours today!Choose your store: | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Overview of MESSENGER’s science objectivesFROM MESSENGER PRESS KIT

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Posted: February 15, 2011H0Main Engine IgnitionThe Ariane 5 rocket’s first stage Vulcain 2 main engine ignites and undergoes a thorough health check on the launch pad.H0+00:07.3LaunchProducing about 2.6 million pounds of thrust, the Ariane 5 rocket’s two solid rocket boosters ignite to lift the launcher into the sky.H0+00:12.5Start Pitch ManeuverThe Ariane 5 rocket begins to pitch over after rising vertically from the ELA-3 launch pad.H0+00:17Start Roll ManeuverThe Ariane 5 rocket starts its roll maneuver to head east away from the Guiana Space Center.H0+02:22Booster SeparationThe solid rocket boosters exhaust their propellant and are jettisoned from the Ariane 5’s first stage.H0+03:29Jettison Payload FairingThe two halves of the Ariane 5’s payload fairing are jettisoned once therocket leaves the thick lower atmosphere.H0+08:52Main Stage ShutdownThe cryogenic first stage’s Vulcain 2 main engine shuts down.H0+08:58Stage SeparationExplosive bolts fire to separate the Ariane 5’s first and second stages.H0+09:04Upper Stage Ignition 1The upper stage’s Aestus engine, burning hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, ignites for the first of two burns to send the Automated Transfer Vehicle into orbit.H0+17:17Upper Stage Shutdown 1The upper stage’s Aestus engine shuts down after reaching a parking orbit stretching from a low point of 85 miles to a high point of 161 miles.H0+59:28Upper Stage Ignition 2The Ariane 5 upper stage’s Aestus engine fires again to circularize its orbit at an altitude of about 161 miles and an inclination of 51.6 degrees.H0+59:55Upper Stage Shutdown 2The Aestus engine completes its job in the launch, injecting the Automated Transfer Vehicle in a circular 161-mile-high orbit.H0+63:54ATV 2 SeparationThe 44,000-pound Automated Transfer Vehicle separates from the Ariane 5 upper stage.Data source: Arianespace/ESAJohn Glenn Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The historic first orbital flight by an American is marked by this commemorative patch for John Glenn and Friendship 7.Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is available in our store. Get this piece of history!Celebrate the shuttle programFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This special commemorative patch marks the retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch.Fallen Heroes Patch CollectionThe official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Ariane 5’s brilliant ascentEurope’s Ariane 5 rocket, powered by 2.6 million pounds of thrust, rose from the launch pad in French Guiana just after sunset Wednesday, filling the sky with fire and a twisting plume of exhaust contorted by winds and illuminated by the day’s last rays of sunlight.The 17-story rocket launched the European Space Agency’s fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle – nicknamed Albert Einstein – and delivered the 22-ton freighter into low Earth orbit about an hour after liftoff.The Albert Einstein spacecraft is on a 10-day trip to the International Space Station, where it will deliver fuel and supplies.Liftoff occurred at 2152:18 GMT (5:52:18 p.m. EDT; 6:52:18 p.m. local time). These photos were taken at the Toucan viewing site about 3 miles south of the Ariane 5’s ELA-3 launch pad.See our for the latest news on the launch.Photo credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight NowAriane 5’s fiery climb into the skySPACEFLIGHT NOWPosted: July 30, 2014 A clear sky over the European-run spaceport in French Guiana afforded a dazzling view of Tuesday night’s launch of an Ariane 5 rocket on a resupply run to the International Space Station.The powerful launcher was visible long after the rumble in its wake died down, appearing as a brilliant moving star among the celestial delights dotting the velvety black sky.Launch occurred at 2347 GMT (7:47 p.m. EDT; 8:47 p.m. local time) from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Two solid-fueled boosters did the bulk of the propulsive work in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the flight.The Ariane 5’s hydrogen-fueled Vulcain 2 main engine and Aestus upper stage engine did the rest of the work to place the European Space Agency’s fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle in orbit approximately 160 miles high.The ATV is due for docking with the space station Aug. 12, delivering 7.3 tons of fuel, food, experiments and supplies to the outpost’s six-person crew.These photos show the launch from the space center’s closest viewing site, known as Toucan, about 3 miles south from the Ariane 5’s ELA-3 launch pad.See our for the latest news on the mission.

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reporters, web – and deliberating the final winners’ list.Women’s Studies works with many programs and departments at Drexel to emphasize how sex and sexuality intersect with history, Attention to these sorts of questions is valuable for students no matter what their major or post-graduation plans. and bio-compatible materials. stretchable, my background and teaching include elements of comparative media studies (how is African media different than American media and why? and I studied obstacles for study abroad ambitions among both English and French-speaking Central African students. PhDAssistant Teaching Professor of Communication PSA 301 215.0482 Rosemary RysInstructor of Communication PSA 201A 215.

Canada Sep 2012 Advances in Consumer Research, Lallen Johnson, Finalists will be interviewed by the faculty member sponsoring the project. see the application form. Justice and the Environment: A Critical Appraisal of the Environmental Justice Movement” (2005) with David Pellow,The climate change countermovement is a well-funded and organized effort to undermine public faith in climate science and block action by the U.” that is up for three Grammys this weekend.As the stars of the music industry take center stage this Sunday to accept their gilded gramophones at the Grammy Awards Reception & Awards CeremonyBehrakis Grand Hall, Poster Presentations2:15 3:30 p.

STORY WRITTEN FOR & USED WITH PERMISSIONPosted: June 27, 2006Commander Steve Lindsey and his six crewmates – pilot Mark Kelly, flight engineer Lisa Nowak, spacewalkers Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum, Stephanie Wilson and European astronaut Thomas Reiter – flew to the Kennedy Space Center today for final preparations before launch Saturday on a space station servicing mission.Arriving aboard two-seat T-38 jet trainers, the astronauts touched down on the shuttle’s 3-mile-long runway at mid morning, landing one at a time in a staggered sequence.”We’re really excited to be here, ready to go do this for real,” Lindsey told reporters at the runway. “We’ve been training for a long time, we’re as prepared as we’re going to be. The vehicle is ready and everything’s looking ‘go.’ So weather permitting, which I’m pretty confident in, we’re going to be airborne on July 1.”Discovery’s launch from pad 39B is targeted for 3:48:37 p.m. Saturday, roughly the moment Earth’s rotation carries the shuttle into the plane of the space station’s orbit. Afternoon showers are expected, but NASA has not yet issued an official forecast.”I’m hoping the weather’s going to improve a little bit in the next few days and we’ll get off on time,” said Sellers. “It’s great to be here at last.”Discovery’s flight is only the second post-Columbia mission and the first launch in nearly a year as NASA has struggled to overcome ongoing problems with the foam insulation on the shuttle’s external fuel tank.The goals of the 115th shuttle mission are to deliver more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and equipment to the space station; to repair a stalled robot arm transporter needed for continued assembly; and to deliver European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Reiter to the outpost as a full-time crew member.Reiter is on board Discovery under a commercial contract between the European and Russian space agencies. He will join station commander Pavel Vinogradov and flight engineer Jeff Williams for a long-duration stay aboard the outpost, boosting crew size back to three for the first time since the immediate aftermath of the 2003 Columbia disaster.”I’m the one who will be left behind on the station,” Reiter joked today. “After years and years of training, I think this is a remarkable moment. I think we all are confident our launch will signify the continuation of assembly of the station, returning to a three-man crew and utilizing the station for its (intended) purpose.”Discovery’s countdown to launch is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Wednesday.Additional coverage for subscribers:VIDEO:RATIONALE FOR LAUNCH EXPLAINED AUDIO:LISTEN TO EXPLANATION VIDEO:CREW TALKS ABOUT RISKS OF SPACEFLIGHT VIDEO:ASTRONAUTS DEPART QUARTERS FOR LAUNCH PAD VIDEO:CREW DONS LAUNCH AND ENTRY SPACESUITS VIDEO:BREAKFAST ON PRACTICE COUNTDOWN DAY VIDEO:WEDNESDAY’S PAD CHAT WITH CREW VIDEO:CREW ARRIVES FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN VIDEO:COMMENTS FROM THE COMMANDER VIDEO:SHUTTLE MISSION PREVIEW VIDEO:STATION ACTIVITIES ON STS-121 VIDEO:PREVIEW OF DISCOVERY’S SPACEWALKS VIDEO:THE ASTRONAUTS MEET THE PRESS VIDEO: SHUTTLE AND ISS PROGRAM PERSPECTIVEDIAL-UP: and BROADBAND: and Telescopes.comLargest selection and the best prices anywhere in the world. Free shipping on select items. is the largest dealer of both Meade and Celestron Telescopes. Visit or call toll free 1-800-303-5873.STS-134 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Final Shuttle Mission PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!Apollo CollageThis beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-133 PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle PatchFree shipping to U.S. addresses!This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia’s historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversaryFree shipping to U.S. addresses!Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard’s historic Mercury mission with this collectors’ item, the official commemorative embroidered patch. | | | | 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.Discovery departs hangarSPACEFLIGHT NOW